Do goals even matter? 🤔
Why do we need Goals for the new year?
Goals are just like a car journey. You need a starting point and a finish point. Start in Dublin. Pick your location.
‘Right. Lets head for Donegal’. From Dublin to Donegal.
Like all journeys we need a destination. If we don't know what direction to go we may end up in Kilkenny! (Nothing wrong with that though really. Great Smithwicks).
Goals provide us with direction. Without them we may be stuck at a roundabout for a long time. Like the car journey, you can take different routes to the destination but it all aligns with the end result, Donegal!
Setting a long term goal like a 12 month goal is important because every journey has its ups and downs i.e. injuries, stress from work, relationships, lockdowns etc. This may make you reevaluate your goals along the way which is perfectly fine as long as it's still on course to the destination/plan aka Donegal!
Sometimes the answer may be not always be the right one for you. Sometimes you may take the wrong path and google maps can send you to Dun Laoghaire for the first few miles. 🤦🏼♂️
SH*T gets in the way. Sometimes things dont go to the plan buts thats ok. Treating misshaps like the pizza that slipped into your order, or the water you forgot to drink or that one session you missed. These slips are all lessons and getting back on track is what the aim of the long term goal is no matter how many obstacles get in the way.
NOTE: Short term goals = Process Goals.
Stick to the process and the outcome goal will arrive.
How to set goals and keep them
Work your way back.
Everyone can make a 6 week goal to get a little bit leaner for a holiday or a wedding. But how many people maintain such a figure / standard? Not many. T
hat's why choosing a 12 month goal and breaking it down into monthly, weekly and dails goals will make it more achievable.
Ask yourself:
‘What do I want 12 months from now?’
‘What do I want 6 months from now?’
‘What improvements do I need to see in 1 month from now?’
‘What do i need to do this week?’
2. The Magic Secret of Successfully Keeping Goals (STANDARDS)
The secret to keeping our goals is to work at them Every. Single. Day.
No ifs or buts!
Is your goal a priority or is it last on the to-do list for the day?
It's something that's happened to everyone at some stage, work, emails, social media all of a sudden it's dark out and the day is gone and not one single thing has been done to work to the 12 month plan.
So prioritising the goal at the start of the day, which could be planning out the meals for the day, booking into a session or having a certain amount of water drank by 3pm. If you make this non-negotiable then you’ll be on the correct path towards your goal.
3. Hitting every single goal is not sustainable (ROADBLOCKS)
Understanding that there will be times when we wont hit our goal is important. As humans we tend to beat ourselves up when we don't reach our target.
Yes, it is discouraging to fail a goal but the key to success is brushing off that failure and having discipline and determination to keep going.
My favourite basketball statistic was that Michael Jordan missed over 9,000 shots in his career more than most NBA players over the course of their career, he also didn't make his high-school team. The reason why MJ was so successful is because he knew it wasn't a failure not hitting his goal it was an opportunity to try again.
ASK YOURSELF:
WHAT ARE YOUR GOALS FOR 2021 AND HOW WILL YOU REACH DONEGAL IN 12 MONTHS?